Spread of the Caldor Fire 2021 

This visualization shows the spread of the Caldor fire between August 15 and October 6, 2021, updated every 12 hours based on new satellite active fire detections based on near-real time active fire detections from the VIIRS sensor on the Suomi-NPP satellite. The yellow outlines track the position of the active fire lines for the last 60 hours, with the latest location of the fire front in the brightest shade of yellow. The red points show the location of active fire detections, while the grey region shows the estimated total area burned. The graph shows the cumulative burned area in square kilometers. 

This approach provides a detailed perspective on the behavior of the Caldor fire, just the second fire in California history to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The fire tracking data identify periods of rapid fire expansion and active fire detections within the perimeter from continued flaming and smoldering behind the active fire fronts. In total, the Caldor fire burned for more than 80 days through the El Dorado National Forest, threatening the communities of Meyers and South Lake Tahoe. The fire continued to burn for more than a month after the perimeter was contained in mid-September. 


For more information, visit https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4992 

For hyperwall presenter use only. Please do not link to this page from public websites.